Local parents are a step closer to creating a new state secondary school in Wandsworth after the Council exchanged contracts to buy the former Bolingbroke Hospital.
 
The council intends to lease the building to a group of local parents so they can create a new free school on the site.
 
The school will be open to local children of all abilities and from all backgrounds.
 
Council leader Edward Lister says: "The new Bolingbroke Academy will give south Battersea its own state secondary school where local parents are free to set the priorities for their children's education.
 
"We hope this will be the first of many free schools in Wandsworth so children from all over the borough can access this new model of education."
 
Executive member for education and children's services Kathy Tracey says:
"The new school will help meet growing demand for school places in this part of the borough and offer an exciting alternative to the traditional secondary school.

"As more free schools are created they will help drive up standards right across the education sector as schools compete with each other to develop the best local offer."

The new school's refurbishment and future running cost will be met by central government.
 
For more information on free schools visit www.education.gov.uk/freeschools
For more information on the Bolingbroke Academy plans visit www.arkbolingbrokeacademy.org

January 18th, 2011